SCHILLER provides support for COmPLETE project

The COmPLETE project (CardiO-PuLmonary Exercise Testing) focuses on cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). The project is carried out at the Medical Faculty of the University of Basel within the Department of Sport, Exercise and Health and the Division of Sports and Exercise Medicine, and it is led by Prof. Dr. med. Arno Schmidt-Trucksäss.

Image: COmPLETE-Projekt

The project consists of three studies: COmPLETE-Health, COmPLETE-Heart and COmPLETE-Lung. It is conducted over a period of three years, with a follow-up after 5 years. Apart from the director, a PhD student, a post-doc researcher, two assistant physicians, a senior physician and six Bachelor and three Master students are participating in the project. SCHILLER supports the study by funding the PhD student and post-doc researcher, and by providing three CARDIOVIT CS-200 Excellence ErgoSpiro.

An overview on the three sub-studies:

COmPLETE-Health

This study examines almost 500 healthy subjects between 20 and 100 years of age. Gender distribution in all age groups is 50/50. Apart from ergo-spirometry, variables such as strength, physical activity or walking pace are collected from these subjects in order to obtain for the first time standard values for the healthy Swiss population regarding various ergo-spiro parameters as well as vascular health and further health markers. Subject recruiting will commence in November 2017.

COmPLETE-Heart and COmPLETE-Lung

The COmPLETE Heart study examines patients suffering from cardiac insufficiency and coronary heart disorders (80 patients each). The study is conducted in close collaboration with the Kantonsspital Liestal, PD Dr. med. Thomas Dieterle, both with regards to the examination as well as the recruitment of patients. For COmPLETE-Lung, the recruitment of 45 patients suffering from chronic-obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is planned. Recruitment starts end of 2018, once the recruitment of cardiac patients has been finished.

COmPLETE-Heart and COmPLETE-Lung patients are compared to the healthy subjects with regard to age and gender. This will be possible thanks to the large number of healthy subjects taking part in the study. The broad age range provides the possibility to distinguish between healthy aging and beginning illness.

Aim of the project

Prof. Dr.med. Schmidt-Trucksäss and his team aim at characterizing the transition between health and illness in a significantly improved way, and they want to facilitate the differentiation between being healthy and ill. To do so, they use both the latest and well established ergo-spirometry parameters.

Comparing the COmPLETE-Health, COmPLETE-Heart and COmPLETE-Lung data records aims at detecting variables which filter the differences between a person’s healthy aging and an early stage of cardiac insufficiency or coronary artery disease. The focus lies on submaximal CPET variables and variables of the post-exercise stage. Employing modern computer methods for the analysis of data, so-called Deep Learning or Cluster analysis, is supposed to further increase CPET’s informative value.

Another goal is the improvement and simplification of ergo-spirometry procedures. Thanks to increased user guidance and automatic interpretation, ease of use, result interpretation and diagnosis are significantly improved and facilitated. It is therefore hoped that the group of users is extended considerably. Ergo-spirometry could be pushed as diagnosis and prognosis tool and increasingly be used.

The COmPLETE project is unique, even far beyond the Swiss border. Various ergo-spirometry studies have already been conducted; however, only few have been performed with the desired number of subjects and on a bike ergometer, and even fewer have examined influences such as strength and co-ordination.